


Secrets

by sorryallonsy



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Gen, Mer!Fíli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 09:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorryallonsy/pseuds/sorryallonsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t WANT ice cream!” Kili shouted at the sea, giving the water an extra big kick, making a great splash. From a few meters to his right, Kili heard laughter and then water started splashing back at him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets

Thorin watched as his young nephew stared longingly out the window at the beach. He sighed, knowing there would be no moving the boy away from there all day as long as the storm kept up and he was stuck inside. He didn’t even bother trying to get Kili to eat or talk, knowing his efforts would just be wasted. It was the same thing every time the weather was bad and Kili had to stay inside all day; Kili would stare all day at the raging waters, lost in his own mind until the storm passed, when he would finally tear his eyes away from the window and collapse on the bed, asleep within moments of hitting the pillow. The next day, Kili would be back to his normal self, or at least as normal as he got nowadays, Thorin amended in his head. The young dwarf hadn’t been his normal self completely in over five months, not since his mother, Thorin’s sister, had died and left the boy in Thorin’s care. None of them were really normal, Thorin thought, not anymore, but it was definitely the most obvious in young Kili. The boy didn’t laugh or smile anymore, and Thorin couldn’t decide which loss hurt more - that of his sister or of his nephew.

\-------------

Kili sat on the end of the dock kicking his legs through the water. He wasn’t allowed to go swimming without his uncle nearby, and his uncle was still at work and wouldn’t be back for a couple more hours at least. To be honest, Kili wasn’t exactly sure what it was that his uncle did. His mom had tried explaining it to him once, but there were too many big words he didn’t understand, so she just told him she’d tell him when he was older. 

Kili wondered if he would be old enough soon so she could come back and tell him. He asked Mr. Dwalin about this a few days ago, but the big dwarf just shook his head and kind of frowned before changing the subject to ask Kili if he wanted to go get ice cream.

He’d had a lot of ice cream lately.

“I don’t WANT ice cream!” Kili shouted at the sea, giving the water an extra big kick, making a great splash. From a few meters to his right, Kili heard laughter and then water started splashing back at him. Kili’s head snapped up, trying to find the source of the laughter. 

“Hello?” Kili called out when he didn’t see anyone swimming.

More splashing came from over to his left, and when Kili turned to look, he saw a boy who looked to be about his age in the water. When Kili made eye contact, the other boy just laughed and ducked under the water, a flash of golden yellow and green the only thing Kili saw before staring at empty blue again.

A splash from the right again drew Kili’s attention, and this time the boy in the water stayed put. Kili stared at the other boy, who had long blond hair with sea shells and what looked like seaweed braided into it. Much different than Kili’s own dark brown hair that just hung loosely around his shoulders. 

The blond stared right back at Kili, and their staring contest continued for a few more moments until the blond tilted his head to the side and asked, “What ice cream?”

Kili was shocked. “You don’t know what ice cream is? Haven’t your parents or anyone ever given you some for dessert?” The blond shook his head. “It’s cold and sweet. And comes in lots of flavors! I like chocolate the best, but I don’t eat it no more because that was my mom’s favorite too and it reminds me too much of her and makes me sad. I don’t want ice cream, I just want my mom...” he trailed off, kicking the water again in frustration. Every time he said something to the grown ups about missing his mom, they gave him ice cream. At first he was thrilled, because what seven year old wouldn’t want ice cream all the time? But now he just missed his mom and he didn’t understand why she left him.

“No mom?” the blond boy asked looking even more confused than before. Kili had almost forgotten the other boy was there, and realized he probably wasn’t making very much sense.  
 “No mom. Uncle Thorin said that she went to join Da in the Maker’s Halls so I can’t see them no more. I don’t know why she couldn’t take me with her, my Da left when I was just a babe so I don’t remember him any. I asked Uncle Thorin why they won’t visit, but he said they can’t. I don’t know why they can’t though, do you?” Kili asked the other boy, but he just shrugged his shoulders in response. “I think the grown ups know, but they don’t want to tell me ‘cause it’s a secret,” Kili whispered.

“Secret! Like secrets!” The boy in the water shouted happily, splashing water all over the place.

“Yeah? Do you have any good secrets?” Kili asked.

The other boy nodded quickly, and opened his mouth to share before shutting it quickly. “Can’t. No tell strangers.”

Kili reached his hand out to the boy and introduced himself. “My name is Kili.”

“Fili!” 

“No, not Fi-li, Ki-li,”

The boy in the water laughed. “No, me Fili. You Kili.”

Understanding, Kili began to laugh as well. “Oh! Well, hello Fili! Want to be my friend? Then we won’t be strangers no more! I don’t have any friends here, just Uncle Thorin, but he’s old,” the brunet said, wrinkling his nose.

Fili pondered for a while before nodding. “Kili Fili friend!” Fili splashed the water happily again, managing to get most of it on Kili. Kili retaliated by kicking water back at Fili, effectively causing a splash fight to break out. After several minutes and much laughing, the boys calmed down, and Fili looked at Kili curiously. “Kili swim?”

Kili shook his head. “Uncle Thorin told me not to go swimming without him around. What about you? You’re can swim all by yourself?”

“Yep!” Fili laughed. “Fili swim all day. Good swimmer!” he dove under the water to prove himself, swimming under the dock and around Kili’s feet a few times before popping his head back out of the water right in front of Kili on the dock.

Kili was amazed. “How’d you learn to swim under water so well?”

Fili laughed again, and then revealed to Kili his secret: instead of legs and feet, Fili had a tail. Green and gold fins splashed water onto the deck, scales shimmering under the sunlight. “Fili no learn swim. Just know,” he smiled.

“That is so cool! Kili shouted, never taking his eyes off his new friend’s tail. “Does that mean you’re a mermaid?!”

The blond scowled. “Not girl. Fili boy.”

“Oh, right. Well if you’re not a mermaid, what are you then? A merbutler?” Kili asked laughing.

Fili tilted his head to the side and looked up at Kili curiously. “Butler? No. Me Fili. Just Fili,” he nodded.

“You’re not just Fili,” Kili corrected, and when Fili looked confused he continued, “You’re Fili, my new best friend!” he smiled, and Fili smiled back, splashing the water again.

The two boys spent the afternoon getting into splash fights and just laughing and smiling until Fili stopped and said he had to go home.

“Kili come back?” he asked worried.

“Of course! I’ll come back tomorrow morning as soon as I can! Kili replied happily. The young dwarf smiled as he waved good bye to his new friend, a smile that didn’t disappear even after his uncle came to get him after work to take him home.

Kili refused to say what it was that finally got him to smile after months of nothing but sadness, just shaking his head and whispering “secret” when his uncle asked, which only caused him to smile even bigger as the word reminded him of his new friend. Thorin didn’t press the subject any further, too glad to see his nephew coming back for the first time since Dis’s death. Whatever the source of his happiness, Thorin just hoped it would be a part of Kili’s life for a long time to come.


End file.
